Monteiro (José Maria) 1Appointment and arrival
Monteiro (José Maria)
José Maria Monteiro, a naval captain and courtier of D. Miguel, was the first Miguelist governor of Madeira (1828–1830). His rule was remembered for persecution of liberals, mass emigration and personal plunder.
1Appointment and arrival
– He was the first Miguelite (supporter of the absolutist King Miguel) governor to administer this archipelago. He was appointed on 15 June 1828, and on the 25th of the same month the frigate Príncipe Real, which was carrying him, appeared off Funchal. However, the Governor and Captain-General José Lúcio Travassos Valdez prevented him from landing. As will be seen in the article on the Occupation of Madeira by the Miguelite troops, once the island had been taken by the royalist forces, José Maria Monteiro landed and took office on 24 August 1828.
His rule was not long, but it was sadly marked by the abuses of power he committed and the humiliations he inflicted on the inhabitants of the archipelago. The ominous special judicial commission (alçada) that came to this island in his time, presided over by the high court judge (desembargador) Francisco António Maciel Monteiro, committed the gravest excesses and drew hundreds of individuals into its inquisitorial judicial inquiry (devassa). Many of them were imprisoned and banished from this island, and not a few were sent to our overseas possessions. Emigration by people of every social class fleeing the persecutions was very heavy, chiefly to England, Brazil and North America. A considerable number of public officials were dismissed, many of them being imprisoned and sent to Lisbon. (See Alçadas.)
2Abuses and departure
José Maria Monteiro became notorious not only for the persecution he waged against the liberals of this island but also for his lack of dignity and scruples; on one occasion he even went so far as to help himself to part of the money intended for paying the troops. It is said that on the frequent visits he made to the homes of the malhados (‘piebalds’, nickname for the Liberals), accompanied by constables (quadrilheiros), he seized everything he saw that had any value. Two of his sons also distinguished themselves in these exploits, and a major theft committed at the quinta (country estate) of Palheiro, which belonged to João de Carvalhal, was attributed to them.
José Maria Monteiro, who was a post-captain (capitão de mar e guerra) and held a court office in the household of Miguel I, left Madeira at the end of April 1830, after his successor, Dom Álvaro da Costa de Sousa Macedo, had already arrived. For his biography, see what we said on p. 113 of vol. I and p. 95 of vol. II, when we discussed Colonel José António de Azevedo Lemos and Joaquim Melchior Gonçalves.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 02-
José Maria Monteiro was appointed Miguelist governor of Madeira.
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The frigate Príncipe Real arrived at Funchal with the Miguelist governor José Maria Monteiro, whose landing Governor Travassos Valdez refused.
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D. Miguel was proclaimed in Madeira and José Maria Monteiro landed in Funchal and took office as Miguelist governor.
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D. Álvaro da Costa de Sousa Macedo took office as the last listed governor and captain-general of Madeira, ending José Maria Monteiro's governorship; Monteiro left the island at the end of April.
Place
Places mentioned · 06
Abroad
- Brazil
Destination of emigrants fleeing persecution.
Brazil is recorded in the Elucidário as a chief destination of Madeiran emigrants, including several clergy and writers. It was also a market for Madeira wine and brandy and a maker of wickerwork from Madeiran osiers. It was linked to Madeira by the 1874 telegraph cable and is the native country of the araçá.
- England
United Kingdom. Main destination of emigrants fleeing Miguelist persecution.
England appears in the Elucidário as the first main market for Madeira embroidery and the main importer of Madeiran wicker. It was also the source of most butter consumed in Funchal in the early nineteenth century. It was a chief refuge for liberal emigrants fleeing Miguelist persecution, and several Madeirans studied or served as diplomats there.
- Funchal
Where the frigate carrying Monteiro arrived in June 1828.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Lisbon
Portugal. Where many dismissed officials were sent as prisoners.
The Portuguese capital, seat of the Relação court and of the Misericórdia whose privileges and statutes were extended to Funchal. Henrique Franco de Sousa studied at its Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and Luiz José Baiardo moved there in 1821.
- North America
United States/Canada. Destination of emigrants fleeing persecution.
Region named as the origin of plants later found on Madeira, such as Robinia pseudoacacia. It was the main destination of Madeiran embroidery exports and of Madeiran emigrants, including emigrants fleeing persecution. Several Madeiran priests lived or raised funds there.
- Quinta do Palheiro
Funchal. Estate of João de Carvalhal where a great robbery was attributed to Monteiro's sons.
Estate of the Carvalhal family in São Gonçalo, Funchal. The 1st Count of Carvalhal died there and was first buried in its chapel, and the 2nd Count held famous parties there and received D. Luís. Archduchess Leopoldina dined there on 12 September 1817, King Carlos played tennis there in 1901, and gorse was first introduced there.
People
People mentioned · 08-
First Miguelist governor of Madeira (1828–1830), remembered for his persecution of liberals.
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Monteiro's successor as Miguelist governor of Madeira in 1830.
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Judge who presided over the Miguelist alçada that imprisoned and exiled many Madeiran liberals.
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Owner of the Quinta do Palheiro, robbed, according to the Elucidário, by Monteiro's sons.
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Person in whose entry further details of Monteiro's biography are given.
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Colonel in whose entry further details of Monteiro's biography are given.
- José Lúcio Travassos Valdez1787–1862
Liberal governor and captain-general of Madeira who in June 1828 prevented Monteiro from landing.
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Absolutist claimant to the Portuguese throne, at whose court Monteiro held a palace office.